In terms of geopolitical optics, this week was nothing short of a banquet. It served up at least two sets of images that seem to crystallize our historical moment and that will live on in the Wikipedia of history as shorthand for where the world was in 2025.
One is the waves of uncannily synchronized soldiers and a bewildering array of high-tech weaponry gliding down Beijing’s Chang’an Avenue. The ...
Category: Maritime
Australia to Spend $8 Billion on Nuclear Sub Shipyard Facility
Australia will spend an initial $8 billion to upgrade shipyard facilities for a future fleet of nuclear-powered submarines, the government said Sunday. The investment is to be spent over a decade to transform a shipbuilding and maintenance precinct in Perth, Western ...
Rubio Backs Philippines Against ‘Coercive’ Sea Nature Reserve
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday backed the Philippines in protesting Beijing's plan for a "nature reserve" on disputed Scarborough Shoal, saying it was part of a "coercive" strategy in the South China Sea.
China Declares Disputed Scarborough Shoal a Nature Reserve
The Chinese authorities announced on Wednesday that they had approved the establishment of a marine reserve around the Scarborough Shoal, an area in the South China Sea also claimed by the Philippines. The move will likely raise tensions in a region ...
Indonesia Mulls Joint Patrol with Vietnam in South China Sea
Indonesia said it is weighing the possibility of carrying out coordinated coast-guard patrols with Vietnam in parts of the South China Sea also claimed by China, signaling closer maritime cooperation between the two Southeast Asian neighbors while risking friction with Beijing. ...
Vietnam Expands Island-Building in the South China Sea
Vietnam's development of 21 Vietnamese-claimed rocks and low-tide elevations in the South China Sea has expanded considerably since 2021 to the point where it will match and possibly even exceed Chinese reclamation activity in the region. The findings in a new report ...
Analysis from Cobus van Staden
Documents Show New Zealand Unease Over Chinese Warships in South Pacific
By Steven Trask China set off alarm bells in New Zealand when it dispatched powerful warships on unprecedented missions in the South Pacific without explanation, according to military documents obtained by AFP. Beijing has spent ...
Tensions Surge in the South China Sea as PLA Confronts U.S., Philippines Presence
Chinese warships and fighter jets were out in force on Wednesday near the disputed Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea in a bid to push out a pair of U.S. warships and a Philippine Coast Guard surveillance plane flying overhead. ...
Chinese Vessels Collide While Pursuing Philippine Boat in South China Sea: Manila
A Chinese navy vessel collided with one from its coast guard while chasing a Philippines patrol boat in the South China Sea, Manila said Monday, releasing dramatic video footage of the confrontation. The incident occurred near the contested Scarborough Shoal as ...
Philippines Says 3 Chinese Ships Spotted Near Islets Close to Taiwan
Three Chinese coast guard vessels were being monitored in the waters off remote islands in the northern Philippines near Taiwan, maritime officials in Manila said on Friday. The vessels were first spotted on Thursday, a day after a YouTube video appeared ...
China’s Rocket Debris Prompts Philippine Condemnation
The Philippine government has issued a formal condemnation of China following the suspected descent of China's rocket debris from a Long March 12 launch into waters near Philippine maritime territory. The incident, which occurred late Monday, has triggered public ...
Philippine, Indian Navies Begin First Joint South China Sea Patrols
Indian Navy warships have begun patrolling areas of the disputed South China Sea with their Philippine counterparts for the first time, Manila's military said Monday, as President Ferdinand Marcos departed for a state visit to New Delhi. The two-day sail, which ...
China and Russia Start Joint Drills in Sea of Japan
China and Russia began joint naval drills in the Sea of Japan on Sunday as they seek to reinforce their partnership and counterbalance what they see as a U.S.-led global order. Alongside economic and political ties, Moscow and Beijing have strengthened ...